Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini make sure 'Dead to Me' exits in outrageous style

It’s hard to say goodbye; if it weren’t, they wouldn’t write so many songs about it.

But it can be done. For proof, see “Dead to Me,” which bows out gracefully for the most part. Its third season, which drops on Netflix on Nov. 17, is its last.

Like the previous two seasons, it’s entertaining as all get out. Like those seasons, it’s got about three more episodes than it has a story to support. But — this is no fault of Liz Feldman, who created the show, or the cast, which is excellent — and when you know it’s the last season, you perceive the show differently.

Like seeing food on the chin of someone you’re eating with. You can’t unsee it.

Applegate continues to be hilarious, but Cardellini really steps up

That said, the series continues to be a showcase for the brilliant comedic talents of Christina Applegate as Jen Harding. Her husband died in a hit-and-run in the first season, an accident Judy Hale (Linda Cardellini) had something to do with.

Several plot twists, deaths and two seasons later, Jen and Judy are best friends, a status they have been able to maintain despite each other’s involvement in those plot twists and deaths.

Cardellini has always been good in the show, but Applegate has owned it.

This season Cardellini steps up. A certain annoyance factor is built into Judy’s character; Cardellini certainly captured that. In this season, the character, and the performance, shift a little bit. And it’s a satisfying development.

The plot twists continue apace in the final season. Of course to say too much would ruin them. But there are several fundamental changes to the foundation of the story. Sometimes that doesn’t really matter; outrageous developments have always been central to the show.

Sometimes it does.

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We watch for the characters, even more than the plot twists

But what matters most is spending time with the characters. Jen remains, thanks to Applegate, acid-tongued and just black-hearted enough to be delightful. Applegate has proven over the course of the show that she is a master of the subtly wicked putdown.

And the f-bomb. In one early scene, it’s more like a carpet bomb between her and other characters. (Maybe the producers are fans of “The Wire,” with its legendary scene in which the entire dialogue consisted of variations on the word.)

When the last season ended, Jen and Judy were hit by a hit-and-run driver — who turned out to be a drunken Ben (James Marsden). As the new season begins, Jen and Judy are in the hospital, banged up.

After that? All bets are off.

Det. Ana Perez (Diana Maria Riva) and officer Nick Prager (Brandon Scott) are still working the case of Steve’s murder, even as Perez withholds vital information, like WHO THE KILLER IS. (Steve was Ben’s twin brother, also played by Marsden).

Charlie (Sam McCarthy), Jen’s oldest son, hates and forgives several different people during the course of the season — it continues to be tough to be a teenager, especially in this house.

Lorna Harding (Valerie Mahaffey), Jen’s former mother-in-law, is still deliciously evil. When she sees Jen in a neck brace after the accident, she says, “Oh, did you finally get your neck done?” Fabulous.

Best of all Christopher Doyle (Max Jenkins) gets to dance.

It’s all great fun. But the thing about subsisting on twists, especially when you know it’s the last season, is that you spend a lot of time wondering how they get us to the end. There has to be a payoff.

And there is.

Applegate was diagnosed with MS during production of the final season

It’s fitting that it’s both outrageous and emotional. “Dead to Me” has always felt like about two glasses of wine too deep. This time they go ahead and drain the bottle.

A thing to note: During production of the final season, Applegate was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She looks different. She has talked in interviews about gaining weight, about using a cane to walk (the latter is hidden through TV tricks). She has also suggested that this might be her last acting job.

Let's hope it's not. But if it is, it’s a good one to go out on.

"Dead to Me"

Streaming on Netflix Thursday, Nov. 17.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Dead to Me' TV review: Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini shine